Helping Remus
by person within the beast
Summary: How Remus found friends and a family
1. Default Chapter

**Helping Remus**

-by person within the beast

Remus was under the covers of his bed shivering; he was so glad that he didn't have to go to class today, he would have surely fainted. It was bad enough that he was a werewolf, but having to hide it from the world was a whole other matter. 

Today was Christmas and he hadn't even checked to see if he had any presents, he was so tired. Last night had been the full moon and he was still in pain from the event. He would have been in the hospital wing if the nurse hadn't gone home for Christmas. 

The nurse had asked him over and over for the past two weeks if she should stay with him, but Remus knew what Christmas meant to her. It was a time for family. For visiting loved ones. He couldn't bring himself to tell her she couldn't. 

_She has a family_

He had been left at an orphanage the day after the bite and had never seen his parents again. He didn't want to see them again. They had left him because he had changed.

So here he was, freezing and in pain. He had heard James and Sirius get up some time ago but hadn't budged. Who knows what his friends thought. 

"I have to go home to check on my mom tonight," He had told his friends before heading off towards the whooping willow. He was so sick of lying. But he couldn't tell them, could he? A monster would never have friends. 

_ Everything was fuzzy. _

Remus shivered and thought he heard voices. 

****

James had stumbled upon the description of werewolves while he was reading about dark creatures. At first, it seemed like nothing, until he realized the full moon was that night, and his friend was going to visit some relative.

Even that hadn't really struck home, until he had noticed the pattern. He had told Sirius and Lily about it when he had first come up with the idea, and now, here they were. In the boys dormitory, staring the boy lying on the bed in the corner.

Sirius led the group closer to the covered figure. James and Lily looked at Sirius on the other side of the bed. 

"Should we lift the covers?" James asked. 

Sirius nodded.

****

The shivers seamed to be fading.

Remus could still feel the wind on his fur as he had broke out of the Shrieking Shack. 

The wind had been so alive! He had run with it into the forbidden forest. This was the wolf's refuge. He would run through the trees and brush and keep on until he couldn't run anymore.

He would looked up at the moon and asked it why it had chosen him. And he would always get no reply. The moon would just shine its light on the earth and the wolf. The stars would sing the wolf to sleep. The wolf had been happy. The cool wind had felt good while the wolf was running.

The wolf though, also wanted the taste of blood, and, after many attempts, it had scraped itself. The wolf enjoyed pain.

Remus could feel someone lift the blankets and began to shiver again. 

_ Who was there?_

****

Sirius gasped. Blood covered his friend's back. What had done this to the wolf? He ran out of the room to the hospital room. As Sirius ran off, the others looked on in horror. 

****

Remus felt someone leave the room in a hurry. He had no idea what was going on. 

He felt week. It seemed he couldn't lift his head at the moment.

_ His mind kept on going back to the transformation._

The tree had opened up, but the tunnel wasn't that much bigger. Remus was claustrophobic. 

The bones being shaped in different angles, the pain running up his back, and the uncontrollable scream that came from his mouth, were all so vivid in his mind. 

****

Sirius came back into the room with a warm soft washcloth and some healing cream he had stole from the hospital wing. Gently he wiped the blood away to find gashes. Their friend hadn't made a sound. Did he go through this every full moon? Remus was always the one they could come to in time of need.

****

Remus winced.

People were sitting on his bed staring at him. All he could see were shadows now though. He still had the eyes of the wolf. 

What did they want with him?! 

Tears fell from his eyes. It would all go away soon. He just wanted to sleep, to be in a peaceful bliss.

****

"Remus" Sirius whispered. His friend slowly turned his head slowly in Sirius's direction. Sirius jumped. His friend, who normally had amber eyes, now had yellow. He laid his hand on Remus's cheek. 

****

Remus sighed as his sight came into focus.  
  
"Hey Sirius," he whispered. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Sirius had tears in his eyes.  
  
"It's alright Sirius, I'm fine." He smiled, even though, to Sirius it looked more like a wince.  
  
Sirius looked at James and Lily in shock, and they came over.

"Who did this?" James asked in a whispers. He looked into Remus's eyes and couldn't move from them. 

He couldn't tell them. They would leave! Dumbledore had told him not to tell, but he needed help. The wolf desired more than anything else, a pack, it had desired friends, even above the taste of blood. 

He couldn't even move his head. 

Couldn't look away.

His friends were longing for an answer. His friends, those words meant so much to him. How could he bear to lose them! 

Maybe if he told them an animal had attacked him? Well, it was the truth, sort of. An animal had attacked him, but that had been a long time ago.

_ The wolf had stopped to sniff him. It had smelled blood. Remus could still see it's blood red eyes. It had bit him. It had tried to kill him. There had been a shot. The wolf had looked up and had ran, leaving him there. Why hadn't it killed him? _

As he looked into his friend's eyes he could only think of one name for himself that fit. 

"A Monster"

****

James looked at Remus in shock. A monster, when the words "monster" came up many names would come to mind. Tom Riddle, Malfoy among others. Remus though, never called them monsters. You could sometimes see Remus playing chess with Malfoy. He treated them like humans. Remus would never call them monsters. His friend was always there listening to others. Remus didn't judge others he helped them. He was the one you could go to if you wanted to get something off your chest. Now though he was in bed with gashes down his back. A human couldn't have made these. What animal though, could have gotten close enough to the wolf to do this?

"Who would attack a wolf?" James stared at Remus, until the realization of what he had just said crossed his mind. 

****

  
Remus's eyes had gotten bigger, if that was possible. _They Know. _

            _"You're a what! I hate you! Why would I want to be your friend!"_

He had heard it all before. His so-called friends would leave him without another glance. There was one thing Remus desired while being human, friends. When the wolf was about the one thing it desired the most was a pack, even above the taste of blood. 

Remus had been happy being friends to Lily, James and Sirius. They were the Marauders! They would come up with tricks and had pulled them on people. They were on the way to earning the most detentions! 

Were they saying that they were rejecting him?! Remus looked at Sirius. Remus's eyes, that were usually full of mischief were full of anxiety, sadness, and fear. 

****

Sirius knew that Remus had been afraid of his friends finding out about his secret. Remus turned away. This was Sirius's friend in pain and scared, Sirius gently touched Remus on a spot on his back that didn't have a bruise on it. 

"Remus, why didn't you tell us?" His friend flinched. 

Sirius though, didn't move his hand away. He tried to put himself in Remus's shoes. Of course, normal people wouldn't accept him, but Sirius had always had someone to trust in. What if Remus didn't, or thought he didn't? Sirius walked around to face his friend again.

"I don't care what you are." 

"Me either," James replied.

"Same here," Lily answered.

****

Could he trust them? 

His friends still wanted to be his friends? 

Remus slowly turned to lay on his back and sat up shyly.

His friends now saw the full affect of the supposed "attack". Gashes ran down his chest as well. Lily picked up the rag and began to work.

"The wolf attacks itself." He said grimly, knowing though that his friends weren't leaving. They would somehow find a way to fix this problem. He knew. He could trust them. Sirius and James had determined looks already in their eyes. 

Lily touched Remus's forehead as he watched her.

He sighed as she gasped.

Lily realized that besides in pain, Remus's eyes glowed feverish. 

Lily had always been the one with the motherly touch in the group. She got up and went to the kitchen using the map they had made. When she came back the boys were laughing about what had happened that morning. (Snape's hair had turned pick, mysteriously.)

Remus smiled. Nothing had prepared him for what had happened. He was needed. When his friends left to let him sleep and to recover he was grinning from ear to ear. Remus looked at the end of his bed at the presents that lay unopened. He realized that none of those presents could ever amount to what his friends had given him. Someone to trust. Someone to tell all of his secrets to and most of all a lasting friendship. He was sure this friendship they shared was going to last for a long long time. Remus smiled and lay back down. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. He was ready for what ever life threw at him.

**Note:**

**            I have been getting reviews to make another chapter. The story that followed this one was called Coming Home. So, instead of making it into a separate story I have just added it on.**

**            So, on to chapter 2, Coming home!**


	2. Coming Home

            It had been a month since Remus had left Hogwarts for summer vacation, and he could still remembered when his friend's had found out about what he was. He often wished everyone could act that way about him, but that was impossible. To people, judging was a way of life. People were brought up thinking werewolves were monsters. And maybe they were right.

            Remus sighed, it was good to have people who thought differently around him though.

            At the orphanage he had friends as well, but they weren't the same. They would talk to him about normal things like, how nice the weather was, or how their day was going, but they would never confide in him like the others had.

            As he looked around he saw a boy and girl playing checkers. He could picture James and Lily doing the same thing, except with wizard's chess of course. James was the leader of the so-called group of friends that had formed after that fateful Christmas and was always the one looking out for the girl of the group. There was a sort of protectiveness about James, and, who ever was near him always felt secure. Remus missed that feeling already.

             A boy slid down the railing, Sirius would often do the same. His cunning smile and his loyalty had always made him stand out in the group. He had the sort of blue eyes that often told you if he was up to no good.  Remus knew the true Sirius inside though, the caring person that was always there waiting for him in the hospital wing with his nails bitten. Remus could even say that Sirius had a sort of protectiveness about him as well.

Another load of parents wanting to adopt a child came through the door. Not one of them would pick him and he knew it. Who would want to adopt a boy who would transform into a wild beast on every full moon? A werewolf could be one person at one part of the month but at other times he could act completely different. Why would someone want to adopt a boy who had mood swings? 

            When he would act like this though, Sirius would always have the most fun with him. Calling him names that made no sense at all and getting him angry enough jump on him. At times like this, James would often walk in with a pillow and start whacking the two on their heads. By the time Remus was over his mood swing he would be laughing on the floor, to tired to get up!

            Some more people walked in, Remus sighed as he picked up a book and began reading, no one was going to adopt him.

****

            So James, you think it's a good idea?" James's dad teased his son. 

            It had been about a month since Mary had asked if they could have another son, and James had nearly jumped for joy. Right now, he was in the middle of writing letters to all of his friends about it. 

"You bet! Get out there and find a boy my age would ya." James looked up with a grin on his face. James had always wanted someone to talk to and have pillow fight with when he wasn't at Hogwarts. Summer would get so boring. 

            He had owled Sirius about the good news. James would have to introduce his new brother to his best friend. He couldn't wait! 

****

As Brian and Mary Potter walked into the Hope Orphanage they were greatly surprised. Many kids roamed the place and some were talking to other people who wanted to adopt. They had to walk to a wall to take it all in. "Wow!" Brian Potter whispered. 

"Welcome to our home." A quiet voice said. They looked down to see a boy reading in the corner. His light auburn eyes seemed dull as he continued to read. His dusty brown hair shadowed his face as he smiled. The twinkle in his eyes had disappeared. 

"What's your name?"

The boy looked up. His eyes studied them before he spoke. "Remus Lupin."

"That name sounds familiar" Mary muttered, "Do you happen to know a boy by the name of James Potter?" 

****

Remus looked up suddenly at the people looking curiously at him. They know James? Nobody adopts a werewolf he a voice inside of himself said. Why not though. He could go through this again. He nodded. 

"Well, we're his parents." They smiled proudly. "How about you tell us about yourself." 

The lady, James's mom, had slid down next to him. Her eyes full of understanding. They were so like James's eyes, he didn't know what to do.  James's parents! Maybe he did have a chance, Just maybe. 

****

James and Sirius waited in James's room for his parents. Sirius had come over as soon as he had gotten the letter from James about a new brother. He was just as excited. They both jumped as James's parents walked in to greet them.

 "Well, we know you will like him. He is in the living room waiting for you." Mary smiled and anticipated what would happen.  
  
James walked slowly down the stairs with Sirius. Even though they were troublemakers at Hogwarts. They were also sometimes shy among strangers.  
  
A shadowy figure stood by the fireplace. James and Sirius walked in. James gathered his confidence and spoke to the figure.  
  
"Hi, my name is James, what's yours?"  
  
Remus turned around and smiled as he walked forward and shook James's hand.  
  
"Remus Lupin Potter, at your service." He smiled; his voice shook with happiness and shock.  
  
"REMUS!" James shouted. "What. How.."  
  
Sirius looked curiously at him and asked, "you were an ORPHAN?!"  
  
He looked up Remus's sleeve. "What other secrets are you holding?"  
  
"I'm sorry to say I am clean out." Remus smiled.  
  
James's parents walked into the room. "We could only bring home the best you know." Mary smiled.  
  
"Welcome home Remus… James, let's show him to his room." 

            **I have read many stories of Remus having a family. Some, of his family loving him, but not knowing what to do with him, and others, where the family hates him. I made Remus an orphan because, and orphan doesn't look back on what has already happened, but on what can be accomplished, and what the future may hold.**


End file.
